William Tell

The History of William Tell

Early in the 14th century, the village of Altdorf in Switzerland was supposedly ruled by a tyrannical Austrian governor named Gessler, who placed a hat on top of a pole as a symbol of Austrian power. According to the legend, the people were ordered to bow to it as though it were the Duke of Austria. A skilled crossbowman named William Tell refused to do this. Soldiers took him and his son Walter before Gessler. The cruel Gessler ordered Tell to shoot an apple off Walters head at 100 paces. Tell took an arrow from his quiver and slipped it under his belt. He took another and fired it from his bow and pierced the apple. Gessler asked Tell what the first arrow had been intended for and he answered, To slay you, tyrant, had I killed my son. In a rage, Gessler sent Tell to prison. Tell escaped during a storm and, soon after, killed Gessler. Swiss legend places these events in the year 1307. In 1315, the men of the three forest-cantons (Uri, Schwyz, and Unterwalden) defeated an invading Austrian army. They helped lay the foundation for Swiss independence. William Tell first appeared in Swiss literature in the second half of the 15th century. The German poet, Friedrich Schiller, made the legend the subject of a dram. Later, the Italian composer, Gioacchino Rossini, used it in an opera.

Today, the William Tell competition test the skill, strength, and courage of his jet-age successors. The purpose of William Tell is to have aircrews perform under simulated combat conditions in order to test the proficiency of the air-to-air combat organization and give the world a firsthand view of its superiority, readiness, and capability. Dwight D. Eisenhower was president when William Tell began in 1954. The meet began as the air-to-air rocketry phase of the Third Annual USAF Fighter Gunnery and Weapons Meet. The first meet was held at Yuma County Airport, Arizona, in June 1954 with the Air Defense Command and the Air Training Command as the sole competitors with a total of four teams. By December 1954, an Air Force message had confirmed that Phase III of the 1955 Fighter Gunnery and Weapons Meet would again be staged at Yuma, with firing competition scheduled for 3-7 October 1955 however, this event was expanded to include teams from the Far East, Europe, Alaska, and Northeast Commands. The Air Defense Command Team outshot the Air Training Command entrants on the final day of flying. In 1956, the meet was hosted for the third consecutive year at Vincent AFB (formerly Yuma Country Airport) Yuma, Arizona, 13-18 October 1956. That year, nine teams, representing every interested major command in the Air Force, were in the firing competition. The F-86 Sabre and the F-89 Scorpion were flown that year. Two years later, the competition was named project William Tell. Tyndall Air Force Base was host to the USAF Worldwide Air-to-Air Weapons Meet for the first time in October 1958, when the Q-2A drone target and the PARAMI, an electronic scoring system, made their debut. This marked the end of towed banners as targets for Weapons Meet marksmen. Also for the first time, competition was divided into three categories: one for each type of aircraft participating. Twelve teams were selected to participate in 1958, representing the Alaskan Air Command (AAC), Pacific Air Forces (PACAF), United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE), Air Training Command, Air Defense Command, and the Air National Guard (ANG).

The F-102s highlighted the new William Tell, which had become exclusively an air defense competition. Radio-controlled drone targets and an electronic scoring system marked the changes occurring from machine guns and cannons to air-to-air missiles and rockets. Also in 1958, the Florida Air National Guard team fired a perfect score a William Tell first. In 1959, 12 teams participated again, this time representing five major commands. The second Tyndall competition was so close that it was won by the 319th Fighter Interceptor Squadron (FIS) from Bunker Hill AFB, Indiana, by a margin of just 100 points. All subsonic aircraft had disappeared from the flightline by 1961. In their place were three jets specifically designed for protecting the North American continent: the F-102 Delta Dagger, the F-106 Delta Dart, and the F-101 Voodoo. This was an extremely close contest as well, with the F-101 category decided by a shootoff between the 445th Fighter Interceptor Squadron (FIS), Wurtsmith AFB, Michigan, and the 83 FIS from Hamilton AFB, California.

The 445 FIS won again in 1963. More realism was added that year through the creation of an intruder mission. A drone was launched from an unannounced point and weapons directors had to hunt for it, scramble their flying teams, and guide them to the target all within minutes.William Tell 1965 represented the largest meet in history with 16 teams and four categories. That year, the first foreign entrant appeared. Canadas CF-101 team was one of the 16 teams entered, flying the F-106, F-102, F-101, and F-104. A team from the US Air Force in Europe also competed.

After a five-year intermission, imposed by the demands of the Vietnam War, William Tell resumed in 1970 with F-106s, F-102s, and F-101s competing. The pilots and ground crews of these aircraft represented Aerospace Defense Command, the Air National Guard, and the Canadian Forces Air Defense Command. In 1972, the 460 FIS, Grand Forks, North Dakota, was victorious in the F-106 category. The ANGs 178 FIS, Fargo, North Dakota, repeated its 1970 win by sweeping the three-team F-101 competition. Another guard unit, the 176 FIS from Madison, Wisconsin, took the F-102 division championship. The Air National Guard teams made a clean sweep of the three major competitions in William Tell 1974.

The 1976 competition was marked by the introduction of the F-4 Phantom. The ANG continued its winning streak, capturing two of three categories with the 4th Tactical Fighter Wing winning for Tactical Air Command in the F-104 category.

The 1978 competition saw the 49 FIS, Griffiss AFB, NY, take top F-106 honors; the 86th Tactical Fighter Wing (TFW) (USAFE), Ramstein, Germany, the F-104 competition; and the 147th Fighter Intercept Group (FIG), Ellington, Texas, the F-101 category. A Canadian CF-101 aircrew took Top Gun honors.

Reorganization of air defense forces in 1979 shifted sponsorship of the meet to the Tactical Air Command. The ten competing teams in 1980 once again came from active duty, Air National Guard, and Canadian Forces units. For the first time, Strategic Air Command B-52s participated to give teams more realism through simulated bomber threats. Overall winner for the 1980 competition was the 144th Fighter Interceptor Wing of the California Air National Guard flying the F-106, receiving the newly established General Daniel ‘Chappie’ James Jr., Top Team Award.

In 1982, the meet was officially named the USAF Air-to-Air Weapons Meet and was marked with the return of both the Pacific Air Forces and the United States Air Forces in Europe. Both flew the F-15, the first time the Eagle competed in the event. Individual competitions were added for weapons loading, maintenance, and weapons controllers. The overall meet winner was the 18th Tactical Fighter Wing, which made the long trip to Tyndall from Kadena AB, Japan, and garnered a perfect score in the gun profile.

William Tell 84 was the last competition for the F-106. Twelve active duty and Air National Guard teams competed in F-15, F-4, and F-106 categories. The overall meet winner was the 33 TFW, Eglin AFB, Florida, flying the F-15 Eagle. The F-4 category was won by the 142 FIG, Portland, Oregon (ANG), and the F-106 category was won by the 177 FIG of the Atlantic City ANG. The 33 TFW (F-15/CF-18 category) successfully defended its title in 1986 to become the first overall winner for two consecutive meets. Winner of the remaining category, F-4, was the 119 FIG, North Dakota ANG. For the first time, all teams competed in the air-to-air gunnery profile, which counted in determining all team and individual awards.

In 1988, twelve teams from TAC, ANG, PACAF, USAFE, AAC, and Canada participated in the meet. The 33d lost its hold on the top spot to the 49 TFW from Holloman AFB, New Mexico.

The 1990 competition was canceled due to Operation DESERT SHIELD/DESERT STORM. William Tell 1992 was the first held by the reorganized Air Combat Command. Eight teams competed and the 18th Wing from Kadena, Japan, walked away with the top team award for the second time. William Tell 1994 marked the 40th anniversary of the event, 1954 to 1994. Eight teams from ACC, ANG, USAFE, PACAF, and Canada participated in four flying profiles and three maintenance competitions. The advanced medium-range air-to-air missile (AMRAAM) was used for the first time during this meet. The 119th Fighter Group from Fargo, North Dakota, took top honors at the 1994 competition flying the F-16A Fighting Falcon.

In 1996, the Top Team honors went to Canadas 4th Wing from CFB Cold Lake, Alberta. Canada posted wins in the Best Weapons Control Team, Profile I, Best Element, Top Scope, Top Gun and Top Operations Team categories. The 48th Fighter Wing from RAF Lakenheath, England (USAFE) won the Profile II competition while the 33d Fighter Wing (ACC) was recognized as the top Weapons Load Element, the 35th Fighter Wing (PACAF) took home the Best Maintenance Element award, and the Air Force Reserves took home Top Maintenance Team honors.

After a 19-year hiatus, William Tell returned in 2023 with nine teams: three F-22 Raptor teams, three F-35 Lightning II teams, and three F-15 Eagle teams the overall winner of 2023 was the 1st Fighter Wing flying the F-22. The next William Tell will be held in September 2025 at Savannah Georgia.